Dr Raoul McLaughlin obtained his primary degree in Archaeology and Ancient History before completing a Master's Degree in the same subjects. He completed a PhD in Ancient Economics and Eastern Trade at Queens University Belfast in 2006. In 2010 he published his research as a monograph, Rome and the Distant East. This was followed with publications by Pen and Sword that advanced a new model for the Ancient World Economy. In 2014, The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean, was published, followed in 2016 by, The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes. His most recent works are the first two parts of a trilogy on ancient Germany, published by Pen & Sword Books in 2025: Germania: The Ancient Germans in Greek and Roman Sources and The Ancient Germans and Rome: 120 BC to AD 68; Records of Contact and Conflict.